Small Town Brewery Not Your Father's Root Beer (5.9% ABV)

Beer Name: Not Your Father's Root Beer
Brewery: Small Town Brewery (Wauconda, IL; La Crosse, WI)
ABV: 5.9%
How sold: 6-packs of 12 oz. bottles
Where bought: Belmont Station (Portland, OR)
Price: $1.59 for a single 16 oz. bottle

Date Purchased: June 2, 2015
Date Opened/Drank: June 3, 2015
When brewed? Year-round beer

Where distributed: Small Town Brewery ships to most U.S. states. They reached the West Coast (including the Pacific NW) in late May 2015. Find out if Small Town Brewery ships to your area!

What's on the Website: "Tasting Notes: Silky, smooth and satisfying finish is unmatched in flavor. It appeals to craft beer aficionados as well as well as those who don't typically drink beer but crave something unique. Because of the overwhelming nature to Not Your Father's Root Beer, we have had thousands of requests from all over the country for this product in a package format. We've worked relentlessly with experts that make up over 80 years of brewing experience for almost two years to figure out how to increase production to meet demand while keeping the cost to consumers reasonable. At long last...it's here." Click here for more info!

REVIEW:

Appearance (5%): Poured black into a pint glass. Virtually zero head, just carbonation upon pouring. Basically zero lacing on the glass. 4.5/5

Smell (25%): In a nutshell, it smells exactly like Barq's root beer. No joke, that was my favorite root beer brand as a kid. A lovely sweetness. Instant nostalgia. 5/5

Taste (40%): Tastes exactly like root beer -- exactly. I can see how it can be too sweet for some people, but for me, it's perfect. The vast majority would be unable to tell if they're drinking regular root beer or this. So dangerous -- in a good way. Far and away the best beer I've ever had (hey, it's classified as a spiced beer, so it counts). 5/5

Mouthfeel (10%): Medium-bodied and coats the tongue nicely. Some carbonation. The ideal root beer experience for adults. 5/5

Overall (20%): A world-class hard root beer. With all the hype surrounding NYFRB, I was wondering if it could ever live up to the hype -- and granted, if you're not a huge root beer fan, this won't be for you. However, since I am a huge root beer fan, I was excited, to say the least. From the first smell and sip, I was instantly hooked. It immediately brought back memories of me drinking root beer as a kid and wanting root beer floats for dessert. Adding a couple scoops of vanilla ice cream with NYFRB would bring instant nostalgia to adults who enjoyed root beer floats as kids. I might sound like an overzealous fanboy on this description, but damn, this is incredible. Even at over $12 for a 6-pack, that wouldn't stop me from getting a few 6-packs at a time just to get my hard root beer fix. Small Town Brewery, you have a fan for life. 5/5

Final Weighted Rating: 4.975/5